No silver bells or cockle shells in ours, but then my names not Mary!
On the contrary, in addition to the potatoes and oats in the top field we have developed a few patches of ground around the stable, the kitchen garden, and so far we have planted over four hundred onion sets, several rows of beetroot, radish, lettuce, onion seed (a first for me), endive, broad beans, garlic and sun flowers; a welcome distraction from the ‘House work’. Indoors, in pots back at Gosia parents, we have tomatoes, chilli’s, courgette, cabbage, sweet corn and peppers all waiting until after the May 15th (the last frost date in Poland) to be planted out, along with a wide variety of beans; French, Runner, Kidney, Borlotti, Butter and Chinese. Then of course there are the peas, bok choy, fennel and a whole host of flowers that Gosia has taken an interest in this year, not to mention the herbs; the chives, sage, thyme and tarragon all made it through the winter and will hopefully be joined by parsley, wild garlic, basil, oregano, coriander, dill, caraway, lovage, camomile and no doubt others I have forgotten. In fact so much is going on I quickly knocked up another raised bed to accommodate our enthusiasm.
We also have many permanent fixtures, including a dozen or so black current bushes, half a dozen red current, three gooseberry, too many raspberries to count, two blue honeysuckle, rhubarb and a couple of goji berries plants; one planted last summer, which is just starting to bud after a harsh prune, and a newly acquired specimen from last week, which I’d guess is about three years old; at 15 Zloty (£3) I couldn’t resist 🙂 And I almost forgot, the twenty or so strawberry plants which we gave a new home to last year, not to mention the prolific growth of wild strawberries around the edge of the woods; I think I’ll have cover the orchard in another post!
So how is your garden coming on?
Winkos: a straw bale building adventure in Poland 
Hi Eddy and any other readers who grow gooseberry plants, these plants ARE fatal to sheep, goats and ducks when nibbled on. Possibly chickens too but have no facts on them. Took all mine out, as we have goats and ducks.
Hi Lindylou, good to see you back and thank you for all the likes 🙂 I must start blogging again.
Interesting that you say this as my goats destroyed my gooseberry plants in the autumn, but with no ill effects other that me getting thoroughly *%$£”^ off with them 🙂 Mind you I will heed your warning and plant in a goat free zone, thats if such a place exists 🙂 Hope you are well and blogging again.
Goats are tough we had one years ago that ate the yew bushes and was ok. I prefer to stay on the side of caution now though that I know about this. Just suppose that I found an animal in my care that died of poisening. Being safe may have to do with their living as naturally as possible that they “know” what they should leave alone. The story I read about the dead duck was about an inprinted duck, maybe when they are hand reared by humans they have lost some of their instincts. Thanks for answering so quickly. I had lost your updates for a long time but followed a comment of yours on the “From Creation to Creation” site and I found you again so I am mega catching up. Really great to be back on track with you, Gosia and Malinka, I am savouring what is still to arrive around about Christmastime
well done What a worker you are Our garden to be is still covered in astroturf and loads of bushes to cut back drastically Cant do much till i am walking propelrly again after my op
My garden is looking decidedly sad after 6 weeks of being ignored and the onset of winter. Still, there is food to be harvested out there yet! I have the last of the beans, some hardy chard, new-season kale and last year’s sprouting broccoli is still going strong. I have seedlings of brussels sprouts, cauliflower and romanesco, and this year’s sprouting broccoli is off to a good start. Then there are the herbs, of course, and the rhubarb, plus one lone pumpkin.
For some reason my leek and beetroot seeds didn’t germinate while I was away, so I’m going to have another go at those, but it’s getting seriously cold now. The chilli plants need moving indoors to make it through the winter and I’ll pick the last of the still green tomatoes shortly.
Your garden sounds amazing and is helping to motivate me to get out in the cold this weekend and see what I can do about the neglect in my little patch. Fabulous!
It’s hard to think that our seasons are opposed and I have to say I’m jealous that you can grow winter crops; it’s all we can do to plant some seeds in the winter so they get an early start in the spring; barley and wheat are the only ones I can think of. Good luck with your garden and keep them chilli’s going, my favourite crop of all 🙂 I always soak by beetroot seed for 24 hours before planting, not sure if it helps but old habits are always worth a try.
I had to chuckle when I read that you ‘knocked together’ a new bed. We built our 21 beds in ’96. They are falling apart now. It’s all we can do to build ONE a year. This weekend suddenly became the weekend to build another one. She suggested Trex, more of a decking material, but one that should last a long time. Trex is wobbly so I had to set the corners and sides in concrete. We got it done, but it took ALL weekend. The only excuse that I have is…well, it’s 17 years later. 🙂
You see that the difference Pat, mine will last about 2 years 🙂 Old wood knocking around the place, a couple of sharpened post left over from the sheep fencing last year and some shuttering planks (pine) from the foundations. A quick fix to deal with Gosias flowers 🙂 Sometimes it’s best to take your time; 17 years, very impressive.
Watch that late frost! We had one almost three weeks after the usual last date! Your garden sounds fantastic!
Also, bravo on planting gooseberries. Are they native there? They grow all over the place here, I’ve been eating them my whole life!
Cheers 🙂 I just checked the 10 day forecast and I’m going to risk a few things…ok maybe not, it’s so tempting 🙂
Yes Gooseberries are native, we have a friend who has them all over their land; we bought our plants 2 or 3 years ago, great fruit to eat and an early harvest with luck, I can see them plumping up already
Ne’er cast a clout, ’til May be out. Still holds good after centuries.
I don’t know about Tesco, Eddy mate, but I reckon there will be a new supermarket in Poland soon, with all that stuff. ‘Winko- Every Little Helps.’ Try that as a slogan.
Cheers mate, Pete.
Don’t mention Tesco round here; although I do admit popping in sometimes when I’m on my own as the self sevice tills are in English 🙂
Wow, you will have a massive glut and feast later in the year, looks great! Thinks are very slow here, lots backed up in the tunnel, a bit like you, waiting for the right time to plant out – too cold, miserable weather today. I have just ordered gooseberry bushes, looking forward to those coming, my strawberries as flowering and my 30 raspberry canes made it through their first winter, so plenty to be positive about 🙂 Thanks.
One thing they do well in Poland and on a scale that I’m taken aback by is preserving, I hope to post about it when the time comes. Good luck with your gooseberries, they seem to be the first thing to fruit and Gosia makes great compote and cordials from them, a great mix with your raspberries. I saw the flowers on your strawberries, a very promising sign full of hope for warmer times.
It’s hard to believe we may still get a frost over here with such great weather, but I’ll heed the warning from mum; she knows best and I learnt a lesson last year when I put my chilli’s out early. I hope the weather improves for you soon.